


I Am....

by Mandergee



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Based on a theory from Tumblr by Atheistj that Ming-Na Wen favorited, F/M, Marriage, One-Shot, Philinda thoughts, Seriously though there are spoilers for season 2 though not that many so don't say I didn't warn you, Spoilers for Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-26
Updated: 2014-09-26
Packaged: 2018-02-18 19:53:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2360228
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mandergee/pseuds/Mandergee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Phil Coulson often uses the alias "Pablo Jimenez" when traveling, and consistency is everything.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Am....

**Author's Note:**

> So there was this pretty fun thought on Tumblr, and I ran with it. There were actually several fun questions, one of which was "Does Coulson use the alias 'Pablo Jimenez' when he's traveling?"

“You've been doing it again.” May waited until everyone had left, stepped over to the door and gently pushed it closed while Coulson remained at the windows, peering through the dusty panes of glass. He was the only one with a view of anything- a courtyard of broken buildings and tired relics of days long past, times that hope had lived with the iconic image of Captain America before fading away with Hydra's reveal. “Writing on the walls. I went down earlier, found more.”

“I can't stop it.” His arms were wrapped tightly around his torso and the muscles strained beneath the thin fabric of his shirt as he tapped his fingers against them in a silent rhythm. “I wake up and it's there- sometimes I dream that I can see it in the air, on my skin, and the compulsion comes without my even knowing.”

“Wake me up next time.”

“I can't. Don't you see that?” The ring on his finger flashed beneath the dim fluorescent lights and he held his hand up pointedly, taking a step toward her. As she reciprocated, he reached out to meet her palm and entwine their fingers together. “This doesn't protect me, Melinda. And I can't protect _you_ from what's happening. Waking you up, asking you to try to stop me while I fight the urge to write whatever the hell it is I'm writing? It's not going to do anything to fix this. _You can't fix this_.”

“But I can try.” They hadn't been alone since the day he'd called her into his office after two weeks away, and May took the opportunity to step in and draw him close, resting her head on his shoulder and breathing in the scent of his cologne. Sometimes she thought it smelt different- mingled with the tinge of sweat from traveling and the fresh smell of his skin- but always it was comforting, and she could draw her strength from that. “When we got married you told me you'd missed that closeness with someone, that opportunity to have a trust with one person on the planet you couldn't with anyone else. And I told _you_ I had your back then, and now. The ring just gives us something tangible when we can't have each other. Maybe I can't fix this, Phil- but I can try. You _have_ to let me try, or this partnership won't work.”

His breath was the only sound that filled her ears as they stood together, arms wrapping slowly around her torso and coming up for his hands to rest on the smooth plane of her back. She could remember the day they'd snuck away to get married under the watchful eye of Kevin Koenig, one of Billy's many brothers and the only one who seemed to know the best way to find a Justice of the Peace without the need for too many questions. No fancy dress, no suit and tie- just two people in black, walking hand in hand into a courtroom and pledging their lives as they had so many times before...but for a new cause. A new beginning.

“I could never say no to you.” The words were soft, whispered in her ear before he took her face in both hands and stared into her eyes with a look she'd seen a thousand times before, though it never failed to send a jolt into her gut. “And I know you're right. I love you.”

“I love you too, Director. Now, we have a man to catch, don't we?” Stepping back she caught one of his hands as it fell and placed a kiss firmly atop his wedding ring. “Keep my husband safe until I get back, all right?”

“Only if you make sure my wife comes home in one piece.” Looking back as she left the office, May watched him start stuffing passports into a drawer, stopping only as he came to the newest of the bunch. She knew her own photo was looking up at him, and a smile came to her lips as she remembered the day they'd gotten it back with her new name stamped in gold.

_Melinda Qiaolian Jimenez_.

_I am Mrs. Jimenez._

She wondered what her mother would think about that.


End file.
